News & Perspectives on Beer and its Culture

HE’BREW Beer Offers Up Four Limited Offerings during Chanukah

To properly celebrate 20 years in the craft brewing industry, Shmaltz Brewing Company/HE’BREW Beer (Clifton Park, New York) is going big with the release of four limited offerings during the 2016 Chanukah season: Chanukah, Hanukkah…Pass the Beer;Genesis 20:20;Jewbelation 20; and Shtick in a Box Holiday Variety 12-Pack.

Fittingly brewed with 8 malts and 8 hops, Chanukah, Hanukkah…Pass the Beer returns as “The Official Chosen Beer Of This Holiday Season” and kicks off this brew-filled Chanukah celebration. Cocoa nibs were added to this bounty of malts and hops to create a Golden Strong Ale filled with notes of “honey, chocolate, . . . biscuit and toast with light peach, . . . and a hint of vanilla on the finish.” At 8% ABV, Chanukah, Hanukkah…Pass the Beer has just the right amount of season appropriate warmth. This offering is available now in 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles and on draft throughout the distribution area of Shmaltz Brewing.

The giving spirit of HE’BREW Beer continues with the release of Genesis 20:20, a tart Barleywine-style Ale that has been aged in Rye Whiskey and Bourbon barrels for 10 months. This lengthy process produces a beer that is mahogany in color with “aromas of currant, raisin, and toffee waft[ing] from the heavenly concoction, leaning towards port, sherry or cognac.” Once it hits the palate, the drinker is greeted by “pronounced flavors of dark chocolate and heavy fruits — figs, dates, and ripe plum.” Genesis 20:20 is a complex brew meant to be sipped and shared with friends/family at the various gatherings of the holiday season. You can find this limited offering in 22 oz. bottles and on draft at craft beer-friendly establishments within the brewery’s distribution area.

Next, we have the biggest gift brewed up by the folks at Shmaltz Brewing, Jewbelation 20. Arriving as “the 13th version of its acclaimed seasonal Anniversary offering,” the brewery has crafted Jewbelation 20 to essentially be a “triple brown ale.” Whatever you want to call it, the base of this massive Dark American Strong Ale was created with a gargantuan malt bill (10 malts) “overflow[ing] with dark fruits — bing cherry, raisins, currants, and figs.” This deep, rich fruit quality then shifts to “pronounced notes of pumpernickel and dark chocolate, coffee roast and cherry wood [that] dance with pounds and pounds of hops (10 hops) leading with citrus and stone fruit up front melding into a grassy earthiness on the finish.” Did I mention this beer was big? 16.8% ABV big to be exact, so be sure to open this one with the intention of sharing. You can find Jewbelation 20 in 22 oz. bottles and on draft at select bars, restaurants and retailers that typically see limited release offerings from Shmaltz Brewing (well, at least in markets where that 16.8% ABV is legal).

If you are the kind of man/woman who prefers to keep your options open, HE’BREW Beer has you covered as well with the release of their Shtick in a Box Holiday Variety 12-Pack. To start, this mixed pack contains three Shmaltz favorites, all World Beer Championship Gold Medal winners: Hop Manna IPA, Messiah Nut Brown Ale and Slingshot American Craft Lager. To keep things festive, this box also contains the gift of the 2016 version of Chanukah, Hanukkah…Pass the Beer. Pick up the Shtick in a Box Holiday Variety 12-Pack as a gift for the craft beer lover in your life or simply as your contribution to the holiday dinner. Either way, you really cannot go wrong. The limited release Shtick in a Box Holiday Variety 12-Pack is available now at select craft beer retailers located in the nearly 40 state distribution area of Shmaltz.

If you were finding it difficult to figure out the perfect beers to bring along to that holiday party, dinner, gathering, etc., you can pretty much thank Shmaltz Brewing Company/HE’BREW Beer for single-handedly solving that problem by supplying the options above. All of these offerings are available now, so all you have to do is swing by local beer shop to lock down your holiday supply. Prost!